M–56
Panama City, FloridaUnited States

CorvairJim

M–52
Norristown, PennsylvaniaUnited States

1965 Ford Ranchero

“Charo”

1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza

“"Ashley"”

Head to Head

About “Charo”

I acquired this car in 2002 at a swap meet in Moultrie, Georgia. When I purchased it the car had a fuel injected 92’ Mustang GT roller motor. Unfortunately, I have very little patience when it comes to modern electronics so after a few months out the door the injection system went in favor of the old reliable Holley 650 carburetor with an Edelbrock intake. Of course nothing ever goes as planned when dealing with older cars and I ran into several issues. I had to take the AOD transmission out and replace it with a C-4, I tried to use the injected type fuel pump with a regulator without success and had to replace the exhaust from the mufflers forward. The car was quite a bit quicker injected than it is carbureted but I’m working on that. I plan to install a Thumper cam and have the heads reworked very soon. I also plan on raising the car up about 2 inches (it’s just too low for me) and changing out the dated Centerlines. Because of the chopped top, lowering and so forth, I get a lot of “what kind of car is it” comments when I take the old Ranchero out for a walk. I haven’t heard one negative comment about the car to date.

About “"Ashley"”

Back in 2000, I had the misfortune to have to take a prescription that meant I couldn't drive. I sold the daily car I had at that point (one plain-Jane black 5-speed Cavalier coupe - a transportation appliance at best). A couple of years went by, and I changed doctors. The new guy prescribed something different for my condition, so I needed wheels once again. I could: A) spend $4,500 on a cheap used car that would just blend into the woodwork or, B) Find a really decent Corvair set up the way I like it. Now THAT car doesn't blend in. I found this '66 Corvair in Denver, CO, on eBay. The engine had been rebuilt by a nationally-known Corvair specialist shortly before the previous owner put it into storage for about ten years. It came out of the rebuild capable of putting 220 horsepower down to the pavement. Not bad for 164 unblown, carbureted cubic inches! It also had new tires all around. I won the auction, and flew out with my wife to drive it home. A fantastic road trip, and it cost half as much as shipping it would have. It became my daily driver for the next three years, until, in late '05, I had it in for state inspection at a friends Corvair restoration shop. While it was up on the lift, I got to see just how little rust the car had underneath. I decided at that point that it had seen its last winter of Pennsylvania road salt! It is now my nice spring day car, and a pleasure to drive. It still draws attention wherever I go with it.

UPDATE: I had to sell my beloved Ashley in August of 2009 due to the nation's lousy economy. My overtime had gone away and and my wife lost her job due to a work-related disability that they refused to accept responsibility for, so we just couldn't justify the expense of nearly $100/month to insure the third car in a two-driver household. Our mortgage was a couple of months behind, so sadly I took a friend up on his standing offer on her. As promised, he has given her the complete cosmetic restoration she so badly deserved. Of course, she didn't need anything mechanically - I always kept her up 100% mechanically. Furthermore, he gave me right of first refusal, so if he should ever decide to sell her, I get the first opportunity to buy her back.